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Removing Sheetrock ceiling

5K views 35 replies 12 participants last post by  Mstrlucky74 
#1 ·
We are going to be removing Sheetrock in our living room and put up new. Above the ceiling is our unfinished attic. We have insulation betwwen the rafters above this ceiling and are hoping it stays put when the ceiling is removed. What is the best way to remove a Sheetrock ceiling? Start going crazy with a hammer ? :whistling2:. Thanks a lot
 
#4 ·
I just replaced my entire ceiling also. Best way is to go in attic n move insulation out of way n vacuum this one person can push old rock down n get nice big peices down at a time. If u pull down from bottom u will get small peices n make huge mess with insulation. N sheet rock will be more of a pain to take down. Try putting up 5/8 rock instead of 1/2 in. U can rent drywall jack for 30 at Home Depot for day
 
#5 ·
A drywall lift is the way to go, good point.
Once I bought one I'll never go back to the bad old days of tying to balance it on my head standing on a step ladder and yelling at each other all day.
It can make it a one man job.
 
#7 ·
I see someone suggesting how to remove it because that's what you asked about, but there not suggesting not to go over.
I've done it both ways. The only time I remove the old is in really old houses with undersized sagging joist.
That way I can sister them to make the whole ceiling flat and level again.
 
#9 ·
Stud finder, go up in the attic and just drill a small hole on each side of the rafter, look for divits or nail pops in the ceiling.
If you go in the attic and check to see if the joist are evenly spaced, once you find one it's just a matter of marking off the rest.
I like to use blue tape on the wall to mark out where the joist are.
Just going to have to use longer screws when installing it.
 
#10 ·
Another vote for installing over existing sheet rock. If you have never taken any down, you have missed all the mess, and especially a face full of junk in your face. Try this in an old house where they burned coal.:eek::whistling2:
 
#11 ·
Your also going to have to deal with the fact the ceiling was installed first and the walls second. So you would have to dig out all the old rock that's stuck in there when the ceiling comes down.
 
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#17 ·
Might remove sheetrock

The ceiling looks to sag in one or two areas( not most at all). See pics. Not sure of this is just settling issues. I peeled a piece of the sheetrock off and it looks like the beam/rafter?? is a low like it my be bowed. As you can see in another pic there is a very straight line crack in the ceiling.My wife is nervous that putting sheetrock over the extg. might stress the extg. sheetrock more. Any advice? Thanks a lot....
 

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#21 · (Edited)
If you are going to go over the existing, put a bunch of screws in the old ceiling.
This will secure the old sheetrock and pinpoint exactly where the joists are.

When you try to fix the sag, the screws have tendency to pop through the weakened drywall. I like to use plaster buttons to pull the sagging sheetrock back up to the the framing.



 
#22 ·
Don't take it down. I did my bedroom had the same situation. I went to Lowe's and got 1x3 strips they come in bundles of 20 or so. Run them the opposite way of the joists so there is a 3 inch screw every 16 inches. Then rock right over it. Your ceiling will be about an inch lower then it was. you can also run any extra wire through those strips if you wanna move a fan or light.

If you remove the ceiling now you have a huge mess. more waste. and you will have to re insulate. If you must - get some dust masks and old clothes and safety glasses and prepare to probably itch. if the insulation makes you itch get it done and get in a cold shower (warm will make it worse).
 
#23 · (Edited)
Thanks so much guys. Ok here are some pics were the sag was. As you can see(I hope) in the new pics the beam somehow lowered into the sheetrock. We lived here when they built that skylight but I don't remember if they added that the piece of wood( the one left to right) I don't think so but why does it just end right there? Shouldn't it keep going? They did add the other piece of wood(vertical) We do here the house settle from time to time. I think we may just rock over the extg. but I guess I have to raise that wood.

By the way, would it be possible to remove the sheetrock on the walls if we put new over the extg on the ceilings? Not sure of the ceiling rock butts against the wall rock or the other ways around. We have baseboards if that matters. Thanks again.
 

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#32 · (Edited)
Why do you have a 2x4 protruding past your cieling joist? That's wrong, and may be the source of the dip in your ceiling, if there are many more like it. That would explain a lot.

Also, where is the nearest load barring wall?

Another thing to put into consideration, your ceiling is sagging most likely because of a lack in support to the weight. Tear down ALL of that drywall, expose the entire ceiling. If any ceiling joists are bound together via stud, they are put together WRONG.

Most likely, you're going to have to run a support beam across the ceiling to an already loadbearing wall. Without actually seeing the rafters exposed and the rest of the ceiling exposed, can't say for certain just yet. But by looking at the sag, it is immediately apparent you have poor load bearing. And seeing 2x4s protruding past your raftors, poor construction added to it.
 
#26 ·
It would probably be better to figure out why the old ceiling sagged FIRST. Otherwise anything new you put up would likely also develop the same problems. Yes, it's messy to rip down a ceiling. But if you don't do it right the first time, will you have the time & money to do it right the next time? Besides, unless you know the insulation up there is done right this would be a great time to get it better insulated.
 
#27 ·
Thanks WK. Actually it was just sagging in the one area that the pics show(where I ripped the rock down) and that apears to be that the rafter was too low. I think it had to do with when they framed out the skylight. As you can see the rafter just stops and that does not look right although when they installed the skylight I think that rafter was already there. So why it just stops there almost as if it looks like it was cut....i don't know.
 
#31 ·
We are going to be removing Sheetrock in our living room and put up new. Above the ceiling is our unfinished attic. We have insulation betwwen the rafters above this ceiling and are hoping it stays put when the ceiling is removed. What is the best way to remove a Sheetrock ceiling? Start going crazy with a hammer ? :whistling2:. Thanks a lot
I sure hope you have insulation between the rafters in the ceiling, because if you didn't, well........... I'd be speaking to the builder. Anyways, if it's standard R-21 or R-19, than you'll have staples holding the sheets in place. If not, and it's the blown-in insulation, than you'll have plastic wrap holding it in place.

Wear all safety equipment such as dust mask and safety glasses, and just cut out your drywall in sections. It'll make it a lot easier and quicker to remove in sections, rather than piece by piece.

Now would be the time to move any lighting fixtures or reshape your cielings "landscape" if you would to whatever desired configuration you'd like. Make sure you have all proper permits needed if required, (most permits you can get for even $5, to $20 typically) follow all local building and electrical codes when doing this.

When you put up your new sheetrock, remember to use two coats of jointing compound with mesh tape, and one coat of the soft-set jointing compound to make sanding later easy.

And ensure you use a vapor mask when you apply your new texture, unless you want to leave your home in a bodybag, that is.... Just putting this out there, most people don't comprehend the fumes for wall and cieling textures, are heavily poisnous, even with a fan blowing. To not where a vapor mask (think of a gas mask when thinking vapor, not a dust mask) when doing texturing, well, you'd have to have a death wish, or very good medical coverage.
 
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